Sea-of-fins structure of a semiconductor substrate and method of fabrication

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device and a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, wherein the method comprises forming, on a substrate, a plurality of planarized fin bodies to be used for customized fin field effect transistor (FinFET) device formation; forming a nitride spacer around each of the plurality of fin bodies; forming an isolation region in between each of the fin bodies; and coating the plurality of fin bodies, the nitride spacers, and the isolation regions with a protective film. The fabricated semiconductor device is adapted to be used in customized applications as a customized semiconductor device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/185,646 filed Jul. 20, 2005, the complete disclosure of which, in itsentirety, is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the invention generally relate to integrated circuittechnology, and, more particularly, to methods to form a customizedfield effect transistor (FET).

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Motivation to form FinFET devices on very thin silicon rail as the bodyof a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) isdriven by the need for shorter gate lengths, lower leakage currents, anda higher level of device integration. The lack of a reliable high-k gatestack to limit the leakage current makes the three-dimensional structureof thin body, known as a “fin” in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,284, the completedisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, very attractivein 90-nanometer process node and beyond. The fin body is normally gatedon three sides to gain better control of the channel potential, thusresulting in better short channel effect and scalability. Methods forforming such FinFET devices face significant challenges such assub-lithographic dimension control of the fin width in a manufacturingenvironment, and surface planarity to facilitate back-end-of-linemetallization. Although the fin dimensions in the conventional devicesmay be defined by any conventional lithographic methods, it is desirableto further reduce the fin dimension to less than 30 nm, which is beyondthe capability of existing lithographic technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, an embodiment of the invention provides amethod of fabricating a semiconductor device, wherein the methodcomprises forming, on a substrate, a plurality of planarized fin bodiesto be used for customized fin field effect transistor (FinFET) deviceformation; forming a nitride spacer around each of the plurality of finbodies; forming an isolation region in between each of the fin bodies;and coating the plurality of fin bodies, the nitride spacers, and theisolation regions with a protective film. The method may furthercomprise removing the protective film; forming FinFET devices from afirst type of the fin bodies; forming fin capacitors from a second typeof fin bodies; and forming metal interconnects on the FinFET devices andthe fin capacitors, wherein formation of each of the FinFET devicespreferably comprises forming a gate conductor over the first type of finbodies; forming a channel region below the gate conductor; andconfiguring source/drain regions adjacent to the channel region.

The method may further comprise exposing the first type of fin bodies byremoving the gate conductor from the first type of fin bodies; andforming a region of semiconductor resistance in the exposed first typeof fin bodies. Additionally, the method may further comprise doping aselective portion of the gate conductor to produce a region ofsemiconductor resistance in the gate conductor. Furthermore, the methodmay further comprise connecting a plurality of the fin capacitors inparallel using a first level of the metal interconnects. Moreover, themethod may further comprise forming a plurality of diodes in the finbodies; and connecting the diodes in series. Also, the method mayfurther comprise selectively removing the nitride spacer in selectedareas of the semiconductor device adapted to be formed into source/drainregions of the FinFET; and forming an epitaxial material in the selectedareas. Preferably, the fabricated semiconductor device is adapted to beused in customized applications as a customized semiconductor device.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of forming asemiconductor device to be used in very large scale integrated circuit(VLSI) applications, wherein the method comprises forming, on asubstrate, an array of fin bodies comprising silicon and adapted to beused in customized fin field effect transistor (FinFET) construction;forming nitride spacers around each fin body in the array of fin bodies;separating each the fin body from one another; and applying a protectivefilm over the array of separated fin bodies. The method may furthercomprise removing the protective film; forming FinFET devices from afirst type of fin body; forming fin capacitors from a second type of finbody; and forming metal interconnects on the FinFET devices and the fincapacitors, wherein formation of each of the FinFET devices preferablycomprises forming a gate conductor over the first type of fin body;forming a channel region below the gate conductor; and configuringsource/drain regions adjacent to the channel region.

The method may further comprise exposing the first type of fin body byremoving the gate conductor from the first type of fin body; and forminga region of semiconductor resistance in the exposed first type of finbody. Moreover, the method may further comprise doping a selectiveportion of the gate conductor to produce a region of semiconductorresistance in the gate conductor. Additionally, the method may furthercomprise connecting a plurality of the fin capacitors in parallel usinga first level of the metal interconnects. Also, the method may furthercomprise forming a plurality of diodes in the fin body; and connectingthe diodes in series. Furthermore, the method may further compriseselectively removing the nitride spacers in selected areas of thesemiconductor device adapted to be formed into source/drain regions ofthe FinFET; and forming an epitaxial material in the selected areas.Preferably, the formed semiconductor device is adapted to be used incustomized applications as a customized semiconductor device.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a semiconductor deviceadapted to be used in customized applications as a customizedsemiconductor device comprising a substrate; a plurality of planarizedfin bodies on the substrate, wherein the fin bodies are adapted to beused for customized fin field effect transistor (FinFET) deviceformation; a nitride spacer around each of the plurality of fin bodies;an isolation region in between each of the fin bodies; and a protectivefilm on the plurality of fin bodies, the nitride spacers, and theisolation regions, wherein the plurality of planarized fin bodies arepreferably adapted to be used for any of customized fin resistor,customized fin capacitor, and customized diode device formation.

These and other aspects of embodiments of the invention will be betterappreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings. It should beunderstood, however, that the following description, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the invention and numerous specific detailsthereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Manychanges and modifications may be made within the scope of theembodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof,and the embodiments of the invention include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention will be better understood from thefollowing detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1(A) through 3(B) illustrate schematic diagrams of successivesteps of forming a sea-of-fins (SOF) substrate according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4(A) through 17(B) illustrate schematic diagrams of successivesteps of forming a FinFET device using the SOF substrate of FIG. 3(B)according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 18(A) through 19(B) illustrate schematic diagrams of successivesteps of forming a FinFET device according to an alternate embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating a preferred method according toan embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the invention and the various features andadvantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference tothe non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and detailed in the following description. It should be notedthat the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale. Descriptions of well-known components and processingtechniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure theembodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intendedmerely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodimentsof the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skillin the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly,the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of theembodiments of the invention.

As mentioned, it is desirable to further reduce the fin dimension toless than 30 nm, which is beyond the capability of existing lithographictechnology. The embodiments of the invention achieve this by providing atechnique of forming a semiconductor substrate with a prefabricatedsea-of-fins (SOF) structure and a technique to customize each SOFsubstrate and form a variety of microelectronic devices and integratedcircuit chips using such a SOF substrate. Referring now to the drawings,and more particularly to FIGS. 1(A) through 20, where similar referencecharacters denote corresponding features consistently throughout thefigures, there are shown preferred embodiments of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention utilize sub-lithographic patterningtechniques including sidewall spacer image transfer or phase shifttechnology. According to the embodiments of the invention, one method toform fin patterns in the 30 nm range is to use the sidewall spacers.Since sidewall spacers are formed by depositing and etching a layer ofdielectric material of uniform thickness, the dimension of the spacerscan be controlled in the range of interest. Consequently, the dimensionsof fins and isolation space can be precisely controlled as well.Formation of fin devices using sidewall spacer image transfer techniquesinclude techniques taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,794,718, the completedisclosure of which, in its entirety, is herein incorporated byreference, where fins with at least two crystalline orientations areformed.

The following diagrams illustrate the processing steps to fabricate thesea-of-fins substrate. FIGS. 1(A) through 3(B) illustrate schematicdiagrams of successive steps of forming a SOF substrate 1 according toan embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1(A), a layer ofdielectric (oxide) material 10 on a silicon substrate 5 and an etchingprocess is performed to form a line-space pattern ‘s’ of the dielectricmaterial 10. It is preferable to include a thin nitride etch stopbarrier 15 under the mandrel oxide 10 to facilitate the safe removal ofcertain regions 11 of mandrel oxide 10 later in the process in order togain access to the substrate 5. The line spacing ‘s’ can be set to 120nm, which is approximately equal to three times the dimension of the finbody. The thickness of the oxide material 10 is preferably in the rangeof 50 to 100 nm. Next, a thin layer of low-k dielectric material 20 isdeposited on the surface of the etched oxide pattern 12 to lower theparasitic capacitance as indicated in FIG. 1(B). The thickness of low-kliner 20 is approximately 5 to 10 nm. As shown in FIG. 1(C), dielectric(nitride) spacers 30 are formed on the sidewalls of the isolationpatterns 12 by first depositing the material with a thickness of ‘d’(approximately 40 nm) followed by directional reactive ion etching. Theresulting gap 40 between the two spacers 30 is equal to (s−2d), which ispreferably in the range of 40 nm for the fin body structure.

Next, the low-k film 20 is etched in the gap areas 40 to expose thesilicon substrate 5 underneath as depicted in FIG. 2(A). Then, asindicated in FIG. 2(B), epitaxial silicon layer 50 is selectively grownfrom the silicon 5 at the bottom of the gaps 40, until the epitaxialsilicon layer 50 fills the gaps 40 and covers the entire top surface ofthe structure 1. The epitaxial silicon layer 50 inside the gap 40comprises single crystalline material. A chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) process is performed to remove the silicon on the top of thestructure 1 until the oxide 10 of the isolation pattern 12 is exposed. Aslight over-etch may be performed to ensure that the epitaxial siliconlayer 50 is completely removed from the top surface of oxide 10, whilesingle crystalline silicon remains inside the gap areas as provided inFIG. 2(C).

Then, a body of crystalline silicon 60 is recessed to a predetermineddepth by a timed etching process such that silicon pillars (what shalleventually constitute the fin bodies) 70 formed inside the gaps 40 haveidentical heights after etching as illustrated in FIG. 3(A). Thereafter,the wafer 1 is cleaned and coated with a protective film 80 as depictedin FIG. 3(B). Accordingly, the preparation of a SOF wafer 1 comprising aplurality of silicon pillars 70 and isolations 12 is complete and readyfor device fabrication.

FIGS. 4(A) through 17(B) illustrate schematic diagrams of successivesteps of forming a FinFET device using the SOF substrate 1 of FIG. 3(B).As indicated in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4(A) and the top viewof FIG. 4(B), the protective film 80 (of FIG. 3(B)) is removed. Next,the nitride spacers 30 on the sidewalls of the isolation regions 95 areremoved as shown in FIGS. 5(A) through 5(C). A mask 90 is used to definea fin body region, 105, for a FET, and 106, for a capacitor. The X-X′cross-sectional view is shown in FIG. 5(C) and the top view is shown inFIG. 5(B). The length of each stripe of fin body, 105, for a FET, and106, for a capacitor, is determined after silicon etching by Cl₂ plasma.The oxide isolation region 12 between adjacent body units 105 is used toisolate the devices and support the metal interconnects, which areformed in subsequent processing steps. The body regions 105 in FIGS.5(A) through 5(C) are used to form FinFETs and the body region 106 inFIGS. 5(A) and 5(C) is used to form fin capacitors. A second mask 91 isthen used to define the well regions of the device as indicated in FIGS.6(A) through 6(C). After an ion implant process occurs (as depicted bythe downward arrows in FIG. 6(C)), the well junction 130 is formed.

In the next step of the process, a gate dielectric 145 is formed viathermal oxidation of a high-k film deposition as shown in FIG. 7(A).Here, a polysilicon layer 140 is deposited via chemical vapor deposition(CVD). Next, excessive polysilicon material 140 on the surface of thesea-of-fins structure 1 is removed with a second CMP process. Thereserved spacer areas 150 are now filled with polysilicon as shown inFIG. 7(B). Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 8(A) through 8(C), the gate isdefined with a third mask 170, where region 170A is used to form the fingates of the transistors and region 170B is used for the top electrodeof a capacitor. As shown in FIGS. 9(A) through 9(C), the next stepsinvolve performing an etch process that removes CVD polysilicon with Cl₂plasma to define the gate electrodes 220 and the top capacitor electrode230.

After gate patterning, the process involves selectively removing thehigh-k dielectric 145 from the fin sidewalls in non-gate areas 240 asindicated in FIGS. 10(A) through 10(C). Then, the exposed sidewalls ofthe fins 105 are doped with an appropriate n+ or p+ dopant to form thesource and drain junctions on the exposed body regions 250 as indicatedin FIGS. 11(A) through 11(C). The channels (not shown) of the FinFETs111 are protected from being contaminated by the source/drain doping bythe overlying gate conductor 220, and the junction edge is aligned tothe gate edge. It is preferable to use a plasma immersion implant toolfor gas phase doping or a high angle single wafer implanter for angledion implantation. Halo doping, if desired, could be introduced by angledion implantation, and conformal doping schemes such as solid phasedoping are also acceptable.

Next, a thin layer of dielectric 210 is deposited and a reactive ionetching process is used to form the sidewall spacers 210 for the gate,source, drain, and oxide area of the device as illustrated in FIGS.12(A) through 12(C). Next, as shown in FIGS. 13(A) through 13(C), metalinterconnects 280, connected to a FinFET, and 285, connected to thecapacitor, are formed via back-end-of-line processes that includeinsulating material deposition, planarization, via formation, and metaldeposition. For example, CVD tungsten stud 234, connected to a FinFET,and 235, connected to a capacitor, in FIGS. 13(A) through 13(C) are usedto connect aluminum or copper wires 260 with the gates 220, as well asthe bodies in the source/drain areas 233. With the dimension of themetal interconnects 280, connected to a FinFET, and 285, connected to acapacitor, in the range of 40 nm, fin-transistor devices 151 are shownin the left portions of FIGS. 13(A) and 13(C) and fin capacitor devices161 are shown on the right portions of FIGS. 13(A) and 13(C).

FIGS. 14(A) and 14(B) show the implementation of a two-stage inverterchain 400, with a first inverter 401, comprising the first pMOS devicep1 and the first nMOS device n1, and a second inverter 403, comprisingthe second pMOS device p2 and the second nMOS device n2 according to theembodiments of the invention. The width of p2 and n2 can be doubled byconnecting p2 with p3 in parallel, and connecting n2 with n3 inparallel. Multiple gates with different sizes can therefore be easilyimplemented and customized on the sea-of-fins substrate 1 provided bythe embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 15(A) and 15(B) illustrate two embodiments of fin resistorsaccording to the embodiments of the invention. A first resistor 510 isformed by the body of the FinFET 151. During gate conductor patterning,the gate conductor is removed from the region where a resistor isdesired. Then, appropriate gas phase doping or ion implantation isintroduced into the exposed fin to obtain the desired resistance. Thecontacts 509, which are similar to the source and drain contacts, aremade on the opposite ends of the fin structure. A second resistor 520 isformed from the gate conductor material such as polysilicon. To achievethe desired resistance, the area of gate conductor that will contain theresistor 520 should be blocked from gate doping. A separate mask (notshown) and doping process is then used to introduce the appropriateamount of dopant into the gate conductor to achieve the desiredresistance. This separate doping step may be done before or after thestandard gating doping process.

FIGS. 16(A) and 16(B) illustrate the structure of two fin capacitors601, 602 connected in parallel by a first level metallization 603. Thefin capacitors 601, 602 generally comprise a large area of the fin body161 or multiple fin bodies to provide sufficient capacitance. Forenhanced capacitance, the fin capacitors 601, 602 may include adjacentsource or drain diffusions to provide carriers for the formation ofinversion layers (not shown). FIGS. 17(A) and 17(B) depict the structureof electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices 610, 620. Two diodes610 and 620 are formed in the fin bodies and connected in series. Thediodes 610, 620 may provide a lateral or a combined lateral/verticaldoping profile, which could be introduced after the removal of gateconductor from the region where the diodes 610, 620 are to be formed. Toprotect a device (not shown) from excessive voltage with positive ornegative polarity, the device (not shown) should be connected to thejunction of the two diodes 610, 620.

FIGS. 18(A) through 18(C) illustrate a process to reduce the source anddrain contact resistance in a FinFET device. According to FIG. 18(A),the nitride spacers 30 are selectively removed in the source/drain areas276 during SOF substrate preparation. Next, epitaxy 710 is grown to fillthe gaps 700 (FIG. 18(B)). Due to the removal of the sidewall spacers30, the widened source/drain areas 276 are approximately three times aswide as the fin body area (which will constitute the gate) 70. Next, thesource/drain regions 276 are interconnected by vias 71 and metalinterconnects 73 during a back end-of-the line (BEOL) process therebyproviding larger contact area and lower contact resistance asillustrated in FIG. 18(C). FIGS. 19(A) and 19(B) show the top andcross-sectional views, respectively, of a modified sea-of-fins structure2 with widened source/drain regions 276.

The sea-of-fins (SOF) substrate 1, 2 provided by the embodiments of theinvention can be prefabricated and mass-produced by the wafer suppliers.The dimension of fin bodies 105, 106 can also be custom-designed andproduced by the chip manufacturers. Since many of the SOF processingsteps provided by the embodiments of the invention are self-aligned andthe finished FinFET devices have a coplanar structure for both the gateregions 220 and the adjacent isolation regions 12, it is possible toachieve further device scaling beyond the 30 nm range.

FIG. 20, with reference to FIGS. 1(A) through 19(B), illustrates a flowdiagram of a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, wherein themethod comprises forming (801), on a substrate 5, a plurality ofplanarized fin bodies 70 to be used for customized fin field effecttransistor (FinFET) device formation; forming (803) a nitride spacer 30around each of the plurality of fin bodies 70; forming (805) anisolation region 12 in between each of the fin bodies 70; and coating(807) the plurality of fin bodies 70, the nitride spacers 30, and theisolation regions 12 with a protective film 80.

The several embodiments of the invention can be formed into integratedcircuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributedby the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that hasmultiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In thelatter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as aplastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or otherhigher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramiccarrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buriedinterconnections). In any case the chip is then integrated with otherchips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devicesas part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or(b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includesintegrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-endapplications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboardor other input device, and a central processor.

Generally, the embodiments of the invention provide a method offabricating SOF substrates consistent with high-volume, high-yield, andlow-cost semiconductor manufacturing. Moreover, the embodiments of theinvention provide a technique of how the SOF substrates are used todesign and fabricate high-performance integrated circuits.

Wafer substrates with pre-fabricated fin structures allow chipmanufacturers achieve better control of the fin dimensions in the 30 nmrange. However, an array of fins 105, 106 and isolation spaces 12prepared on a semiconductor substrate 5 prior to shipping to asemiconductor foundry has never heretofore been demonstrated prior tothe techniques provided by the embodiments of the invention. Due to theeconomies of scale, substrate providers can supply such pre-fabricatedSOF substrates 1, 2 at a lower cost. Such prefabricated SOF substrates1, 2 would also be highly marketable because chip manufacturers would nolonger have to contend with the technical and economic difficulties ofproducing well-controlled sub-lithographic-width fins within their ownprocesses.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the embodiments of the invention thatothers can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adaptfor various applications such specific embodiments without departingfrom the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations andmodifications should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is tobe understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is forthe purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while theembodiments of the invention has been described in terms of preferredembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that theembodiments of the invention can be practiced with modification withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of forming a semiconductor device to be used in very largescale integrated circuit (VLSI) applications, said method comprising:forming, on a substrate, an array of fin bodies comprising silicon andadapted to be used in customized fin field effect transistor (FinFET)construction; forming nitride spacers around each fin body in said arrayof fin bodies; separating each said fin body from one another; andapplying a protective film over the array of separated fin bodies. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: removing said protectivefilm; forming FinFET devices from a first type of fin body; forming fincapacitors from a second type of fin body; and forming metalinterconnects on said FinFET devices and said fin capacitors.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein formation of each of said FinFET devicescomprises: forming a gate conductor over said first type of fin body;forming a channel region below said gate conductor; and configuringsource/drain regions adjacent to said channel region.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: exposing said first type of fin body byremoving said gate conductor from said first type of fin body; andforming a region of semiconductor resistance in the exposed first typeof fin body.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising doping aselective portion of said gate conductor to produce a region ofsemiconductor resistance in said gate conductor.
 6. The method of claim2, further comprising connecting a plurality of said fin capacitors inparallel using a first level of said metal interconnects.
 7. The methodof claim 2, further comprising: forming a plurality of diodes in saidfin body; and connecting said diodes in series.
 8. The method of claim1, further comprising: selectively removing said nitride spacers inselected areas of said semiconductor device adapted to be formed intosource/drain regions of said FinFET; and forming an epitaxial materialin said selected areas.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the formedsemiconductor device is adapted to be used in customized applications asa customized semiconductor device.
 10. A semiconductor device adapted tobe used in customized applications as a customized semiconductor devicecomprising: a substrate; a plurality of planarized fin bodies on saidsubstrate, wherein the fin bodies are adapted to be used for customizedfin field effect transistor (FinFET) device formation; a nitride spaceraround each of said plurality of fin bodies; an isolation region inbetween each of said fin bodies; and a protective film on said pluralityof fin bodies, said nitride spacers, and the isolation regions.
 11. Thesemiconductor device of claim 10, wherein said plurality of planarizedfin bodies are adapted to be used for any of customized fin resistor,customized fin capacitor, and customized diode device formation.